Sierra

WHoa! That's the same tank I saw in... November maybe? It looks really good! The pictures don't do the fish justice they are gorgeous.

Sadly...I had to redo mine..not all the plants made it without the care it needed over my near 3 week holiday. Oh well excited to get everything going again.

I wouldn't bother with a heater... cherry shrimp are pretty adaptable and the change in your water would be nothing too drastic in that time frame. I think they can even live in an unheated tank.

I recently redid my substrate and they seemed fine in a small container for a short amount of time. However two things

1) after everything is out of the tank carefully make sure none are left...you may have more than you think

2) don't leave the waterline too high in the bucket or let them be able to reach anything they may escape with (plant..cover..) because they will escape

If you have fish that will eat the shrimp I suggest giving them a separate bucket because if plant cover was letting them survive a bucket...well you know

I'm sure it won't be a big deal !

lol I have made this mistake too

Half Moon it is

I've found it awesome I think I'm semi-addicted. No more endless searching for information...so much here. You will definitely like it and find what you need. Welcome!

Oh and anything you need all you have to do is ask... it's nice...

Yes I wanted to set up the hagen mini elite but they discontinued it ..so the pet stores tell me. Although I think you can still get it online. Anyone heard of this?

Tank is 20 gallon planted (snails & shrimp)- no fish right now

1) What is the deal... are power filters with trickle/waterfall output bad for inserting your DIY CO2?

Will my power filter create to much current?? Loss of CO2?

2) Is it more efficient to put my fine pore air stone under where the filter output is creating circulation or insert the CO2 into the filter input? (keep in mind type of filter?^^)

OR

3) turn off the power filter (have sponge filter) and leave the fine pore air stone running as is? ..it puts bursts of small bubbles every few seconds...but they just float to the surface

I do feel like with just the sponge filter there isn't much circulation in the tank and it won't be efficient in dispersing CO2 or oxygen when I add fish. I would like to create optimal conditions somehow with what I have.

Alright that makes more sense. I did read about that specific problem but it was mentioned so few times I disregarded it.

I think I already mentioned I already bought a bulb and pretty sure it put me at medium. Well I don't understand some people go W/G some just go by wavelengths but yes.. I'm just going with it see how it goes probably work out then good after what you said here. Good news for me lol.

My CO2 I will leave for now and see and so the way I understand.. if it doesn't do well carbon fertilizer..like excel?? It's only a small tank after all... for now muhahaha

Just looked into them (never heard of really before now). They seem like more work than microworms but I just read a little bit quickly... I will probably go with whatever I can get my hands on between worms/eels. I bought some stuff recently from jvision and totally forgot while I was there to get some microworms (damnit damnit), but I will see might have to go visit him again he is fairly close to me.

How do you have your banana worm culture set up if you don't mind my asking?

may i ask why you want a high light setup?

I like research, but I don't often have the time I want to be confident that most of the plants I put in will do fine. I think that makes sense ?

I second BettaFishMommy's suggestion on the Flourite Black. I currently have 2 bags of this waiting to go in a 20g I am about to set up. Eco Complete is also good(I use on my 50g) but I have read that it increases the hardness of the water(which we probably don't want since we already have hard water here). I think you definitely want to go with something black! It really makes the fish stand out. Also it is said that many fish prefer a dark substrate. If you are a good DIY'er you might want to check out how to make Mineralized Top Soil. It is said to work wonders for some people.

Where did you buy your fluorite from?? Thanks

Well for now I picked up a life-glo bulb..I ran into a guy at the pet store and he sold me on the yellow for long lasting medium growing plants compared to other colors that change speed but then die out etc etc...uh so I kinda just went with it. I think they are already looking happier after a day... possible maybe?

Dont use BBS(baby brine shrimp) They are hard to grow ,have to be washed off before being fed to your babies ,and baby bettas can get bloat and swim bladder disorder from eating to much BBS. Plus they only live for a few hours ,if that ,in fresh water.

I would go with microworms or bananaworms. Super easy to culture ,can live in water for up to 24 hours ,are small and slow(so easy for fry to catch) and take up way less space.

What do you use??

Well this morning I saw three better than one... I still can't believe she could jump that high gawd!

I had my female betta who is huge I guess... in her own container hanging on the inside of my tank. My establishing tank with only some brand new cherry shrimp...

Yesterday I cam home to find her swimming happily in the tank...I thought I saw all the shrimp after I put her back on her own.

So...I thought I made it impossible for her to get into the tank...

Today I was cooking supper walked by and there she is again... she jumped over 7 inches high to be in the tank!?!

AHH now...I have only seen 1 shrimp

Needless to say she got tossed in with my boyfriends 3 frogs (been there before) and that's where she will be staying. Grr...

feed her nls grow (available at natures corner store) and she should be bigger faster. Also from what i understand the baby bettas only like live foods so look into growing your own and i think there are some members here on the site that can sell you a starter culture or two of what you might like. I could be wrong though but almost any fry will thrive on it regardless. I don't know what kind is best for betta babies.

Good luck.

L

I just going to let her grow out patiently I think. Microworms, brine shrimp, vinegar eels they all work for betta babies just in case...you were wondering. Worms and eels apparently super easy to culture and keep. Brine shrimp bit more work but some argue it's worth it. We shall see ...lol eventually.

I have been reading and there are so many different opinions I thought it's better to ask about my tank specifically.

I want a high light tank and have one light (hood) setup. How high wattage bulb should I get? Recommendations?

Tank is getting new substrate after the light is upgraded.

Recent DIY CO2 and have been using a sponge filter.

If anyone wants to throw around ideas for a black substrate for a high lit, heavily planted tank...that's cool too.

Also make your your female isnt shaped like a vessel ,lol. If shes to fat ,the male wont be able to "lock" with her.

Ahh yeah I misjudged I got a female TOO small I think... but going to give her a try and there is still a bit of time before I give it a whirl. I will be busy with finals.

If your willing to wait a few months ,I will have Giant Plakats ,Doubletails ,Half Moons ,Halfmoon double tails and Veilfin geno doubletails ready to go.

Yeah I would be interested...remember to get back to me whenever you're ready.

In a unheated 5g I'm a fan of the betta/zebra snail/shrimp combo. Bettas are good "pet" fish as they interact a lot with the owner and can have quite the personality. The shrimp/snail also help keep the tank clean and add some neat things to watch.

But if you want a school of fish, i'd also suggest the white cloud minnows as they like an unheated tank. You can get them in regular or long finned varieties and they are quite pretty.

I've also kept zebra danios in an unheated tank a few times.

I agree betta is a great pet and there are many pretty colored males (some females) for a girl to choose from. They don't require that much care as I have left mine with the boyfriend over the summer..they didn't get any water changes and barely fed and they survived just fine. Although this isn't ideal obviously they are hearty. You could have a snail and shrimp (if hiding places available).

Guppies would probably do okay if they had a light or small heat source...she could have more than one pretty fish that way.

I don't know anything about white cloud minnows.

Other fish I'm not sure but goldfish do smell and produce a lot of waste....more maintenance and not as interactive as betta (majority).

I strongly agree as a new member I started reading stuff then looked at the date...the people in the conversations may/may not even be on the site anymore. Lots and lots of the older photos posted aren't working? Also yeah buy & sell could use a clean up I was looking through things from 2008.

Information parts of the forum never need cleaned but some sections could use some TLC.

ps: so far love this forum all the information I ever needed in one place, with people willing to help with just about anything

thanks for the compliment on the bettas at my store. one mistake though, my name is Bryan not Dave lol and yes we do have some specialty bettas at the store. one problem, we are moving everything to the 97 st location. we have the 1 half moon red and some dragon round tails as well as 1 black copper. as well as a couple of crowns some female and some regular bettas. im not sure if i should be posting what we carry as we arent a sponcer on this site yet but im working on it. i have to convince the owner. if anyone knows who i should speak to in regards to becoming a sponser on this site please pm me and give me some info that i can go to the boss with.

Wondering where I can find your store these days???

Yes thank you everyone. I know they are more difficult but I'm up for it and I'm confident. I'll let you know how it goes.

Are there certain things to look for to compare the age of females besides size and smaller fins.. I guess?

I am only recently going to try and breed some bettas as I found this gorgeous male who I just have to try.

He is black with gorgeous silver streaks and full moon (i think...picture soon)...I have never seen anything like him but wow there are some gorgeous fish on this site.

Wishing I bought his younger brother...actually going for my first visit to Nature's Corner tomorrow sounds like a good place to visit.

Anyway I have read that black females are infertile? Anyone able to give me all the information on blacks and infertility?? What is the best female to try and breed him with? I would like to buy a female not from a pet store.

Seems like a consensus on almond leaf plant and floating plants are good things to put in a breeding tank?

I have wanted to try for a long time and still really want to try breeding them even if my beauty of a male proves unreliable. Probably be looking for a good young pair(s) after I try for awhile.

Bread almost all the live bearers you find in pet stores but only recently have large tank(s) again. Not breeding for profit just want to make some good looking fish.

Either way I think it's going to be exciting and um a little bit addicting upon success as I have witnessed reading and reading waiting to get an "approved" account lol.

I am from a small town and this is my second year going to university in Edmonton (transferred after 2 years in Red Deer). I found this website and love it so far...there seems to be endless amounts of information from people who know what they are talking about!

I only recently purchased some bigger tanks again. I have bread almost all the live bearers you find at local pet shops. Have had bettas as a hobby before always long lived.

Recently picked up a gorgeous black metallic looking (fullmoon i think) male. Upon engrossing myself in information overload...wish I had bought his younger twin...probably gone by now!

Anyway just had some questions that need answering and seems like a great way to connect with local breeders and hobbyists. Going to check out Nature's Corner tomorrow for the first time lol pretty excited to have a tank again. Might try breeding bettas before I set up my tank as a community tank.

Wish me luck!

ALSO: looking for blue steel breeding female... as I think this is the best choice to try and breed him to produce fertile blacks??? BUT will try posting some info on the betta forum